Travel to Places You've Never Been

Feb 2009

This entry is continuation from the last entry which talks about Movernpick Resort. Nothing much I can write here as pictures themselves below speak thousands of words.

My favourite is of course the shower that is located outside the bathroom. I feel like I'm going back to my childhood days where we bathed at wells in open space seeing white coulds and the blue sky above. Another feature that I also like is the window near bath tub inside the internal bathroom. I could open the blind as nobody could see from outside because there was a wall built about one foot from the window. Though it was a small space, the sunlight could still reach small plants that were planted there.

Enjoy the pictures here.

..to be continued with more stories..

Previous entries:
Phuket Trip Part I
Phuket Trip Part II
Phuket Trip Part III

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

12 Feb 2009

The place we stayed, Movernpick Resort, had a very large area. At the building which the lobby was located, there were also a ball room that we used as our meeting area, office spaces, restaurants and a bar. On top of the building, there occupied several floors of hotel rooms. Walking straight from the drop off area near the front desk brought us to a staircase which halfway through, there located a cafe. Sittings there were unique as patronages had drinks inside few structures that resembled a huge bird cage. Further down the staircase, there was a big swimming pool. The swimming pool was never short of swimmers or sunbathers during daytime.

Walking straight again brought us to a big garden, which occupied almost the whole resort area, where resort bungalows were located. The landscape was very awesome. A lot of tropical trees and plants planted here until the lanes leading to rooms located in the bungalows became sheltered by branches and leaves of the trees and plants. In the middle of the garden, there was a fountain splashing in a pond. The colour of the water splashing upwards became shining white when it was lighted by the sun. After going through several set of bungalows, there were other smaller swimming pools. One of them was located in front of a building that placed a gymnasium.

Meanwhile, the rooms inside the bungalows were quite sizeable. The bathroom was big. The one that attracted me most was the external shower placed just outside the bathroom. There were walls surrounding the shower but no roof was built. I felt like I was part of the nature watching birds flying and chirping and seeing white clouds and blue sky above. Another feature that I liked about the room was I did not need to close its windows for privacy. There were small plants surrounded the bungalows and those small plants acted as curtains or blinds. In front of the room, there were also a table, a couple of chairs and a sofa for relaxing under a shade made from a type of crawling plant. The plant grew from pillars of a supporting structure like typical tropical house and its roots hanging from the roof. This created a tranquilt environment for relaxing.

If walking further along the lanes cutting through the sets of bungalows, one could reach a beach called Karon Beach. At an entrance near the beach, there located a spa, an internet cafe and a bar. In front of the internet cafe, there was an ATM. So, guests here did not have to go outside if they were short of cash.

Overall, I really liked the resort. However, with a lot of trees and plants at the garden and having a feeling of going back to the nature, we must be aware of mosquitoes that easily bred here. One of my friends was suspected with dengue after returning home. Not sure if he caught the fever here or after going back. I also caught flu after reaching home. Perhaps it was due to alternating hot sun and rain in Phuket. Anyway, that was a normal setback which I thought we could manage up front.

..to be continued..

Previous entries:
Phuket Trip Part I
Phuket Trip Part II

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A view at the staircase near the lobby.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A unique sitting inside a huge bird cage at a bar.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Lanes leading to resort bungalows.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Another viwe of lanes leading to resort bungalows.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A beautiful landscape at Movernpick Resort, Phuket.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A beautiful view of nicely planted plants.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A signboard at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Another view of the beautiful landscape.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Tuk-tuk, a popular local transport was also used as transport by resort workers.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Drifted woods were also used as decoration at the garden at Movernpick Resort, Phuket.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Small plants at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A performance of traditional Thai music at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A swimming pool at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A pond in the middle of the garden.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A unique light at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

The lane to my room.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

A type of tropical fruit found just in front of my room. According to Man vs. Wild show on Descovery Channel, if we want to know a fruit can be eaten or not, we must taste with our tongue first. I tried the method and it proved that the fruit was itchy to my tongue and should have not be eaten. It was a good try. Couldn't imagine if the fruit went into my stomache.. :)

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

The external shower wall.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

The relaxing place which was sheltered by a type of crawling plant.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Internet cafe at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Inside the spa at Movernpick Resort.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Entrance to the spa.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

The lane leading to the beach.

12 Feb 2009

We stayed at Movernpick Resort at Phuket Karon Beach. As mentioned in the last entry, the journey from the airport to here took us more than one hour. Earlier in the morning, I woke up early and thus felt very tired when reached here.

I was unlucky during checking in at the resort. After having been in a long queue, the room which I should check in was not ready yet. The receptionist there suggested me to take lunch first while waiting for the room to be ready. I was alone there but later found out another colleague who also had his room not ready yet. We both went to a restaurant, which was located one floor below.

The food at the restaurant though did not have many Thai menus. When we first having our lunch, there was no Tom Yum. Unlike when I was in Bangkok before, Tom Yum was a must everyday. The resort belonged to foreigner, so it was not really "Thai" as I would expect it to be. Some of the workers there were Westerners, perhaps on foreign assignments.

The meeting would start at 2.00PM, seemed that I didn't have much time to rest. Right after finishing our lunch, we went back to the front desk to take our room key. Now luck was our side as our rooms were ready right at the time promised earlier.

The resort area was very big and had many rooms. Some rooms were located at the main building which was a couple stories high, like normal hotel while some were located inside bungalows that were built inside a lush green, beautiful and big park. I got a room in one of the bungalows. I was really excited!

Considering a big area which the resort covered, the distance from the lobby to the room was quite far. We were given a map but it was difficult to imagine where the place I was standing and where my room was located. So, we decided to take an electrical-powered buggy available there to go to our rooms. Lanes leading to our rooms were very small, just enough for the buggy to get through. Sometimes when we bounced with pedestrians, they had to step aside to give way. While the buggy moved to our destinations, I couldn't even remember the route that the buggy had taken. It was crook and every corner looked the same.

After leaving our luggage in our respective room, we went back to the lobby with the same buggy again. We then headed straight to a ball room where the meeting was held. I still felt very tired and could not even focus to what was being presented. I didn't even know what the speaker was saying.

At the night, we had a cocktail and welcome dinner but I had no fun. I was very tired and sleepy. All I wished was to go back early to the room and to sleep. While some of my colleagues went out to a beach nearby right after the dinner was over, I went back to have a good rest. Hoped tomorrow would be a better day...

.. to be continued..

Previous entry:
Phuket Trip Part I

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Movernpick Resort, Phuket.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Small lane leading to resort houses.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

One of the resort houses. This double-storey house had a jacuzzi..

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Scenery at the lane leading to rooms.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

The lane to my room.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Relaxing area outside my room.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

Resort map which confuses me..

12 Feb 2009

When I heard that a kick-off meeting to be held in Phuket, there was no excitement though. Perhaps the place was too near as I was hoping to go to somewhere further. Furthermore, I could arrange my own trip to Phuket with AirAsia if I were to go on my own. Another thing which made me felt 'cold' was the meeting would last until Saturday. Saturday was supposed to an off-day and I usually had my own things to do on Saturday. Nevertheless, I also felt that something was so strong attracting me to go to Phuket. So, don't forget to continue reading my journey until the end.

In this entry, I'm going to explain a little bit about Phuket's history. Phuket is the biggest island in Thailand and is about the same size of Singapore island. Phuket island is connected to the mainland via a bridge. In the past, Phuket, which is located in the Southern part of Thailand, was a sovereign region governed by ethnic Malay Muslim. The name of Phuket itself is actually a Thai distortion of "bukit", a Malay word which means hill. From far, the island looks like a hill and that was how Phuket has got its name.

Actually, the names of Southern provinces of Thailand are originated from Malay words as they are the original inhabitant here. After the controversial 1909 Anglo-Siamese Treaty, the sovereign region of Patani, which comprised Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, has been annexed by Siam, the names have been changed to Thai names. Satun is originated from "Setul", a type of mangosteen, Songkla from Singgora (Malay loaned word from Sanskrit which means Lion City), Yala from "Jala" which means net, Narathiwat from "Menara" (tower), Ranong from "Rundung", Trang from "Terang" (bright) and Nakhon Si Tammarat from "Bandar Sri Raja Dharma". Phattalung is from "Mardelong" or some say from "Petaling". Only Pattani has the name closest to the original name, Patani. Pattani is originated from local Malay dialect, "pata ni" which means this beach. Some opine Patani is originated from "Petani" which means farmer due to a lot of salt farmers alongside Patani beaches.

In the past, Phuket was also known as Tanjung Salang or Cape of Salang or Thalaang in Thai. During colonial times, English and French wanted to take control over Phuket due to tin availability here. At the time, Phuket was also known as Junk Ceylon. There is a technical school near Phuket airport named after Thalaang while a new shopping complex at Patong called Junk Ceylon.

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

Translation from Thai: Phuket Karon..

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

Translation from Malay: Bukit Karon?

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

Junk Ceylon - a new shopping complex at Patong, Phuket.

Actually I forgot to ask for a window seat during checking in. It was unusual for me not to be seated at a window seat. Thus, I could not snap pictures from above. According to a colleague who seated near a window, the beautiful Langkawi island could also be seen.

We started our journey in the morning and arrived at Phuket about one hour later. After landing at Phuket International Airport, there was no usual Thai environment where we normally could see in Bangkok like all those Thai architectures, clothes and Thai-looked people. The environment was very much like Malaysia, perhaps due to heavy influence from Malaysia in down South Thailand. Furthermore, there were a sizable Malay community here. The house and building architecture were very much similar to the ones in Malaysia.

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

A lot of rubber estates found in Phuket.

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

Shop houses in Phuket.

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

Common sight in Thailand. Electrical cables mesh from pole to pole. There are no underground cables.

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

A mosque in Phuket.

Despite being a beautiful island, one disadvantage of Phuket was that the airport was located very far from the town centre and main attractions. The airport was located up in the North while the tourist attraction areas were located in the South. Our journey from the airport to the place we stayed, Movernpick Resort, which was located at Phuket Karon Beach, took us more than an hour, exactly the same duration of our flight from KL to Phuket!

..to be continued..

Reference for history: Wikipedia

From Phuket Trip - Around Phuket

A van that brought us to the resort was very unique - full of accessories including lots of lamps.

From Phuket Trip - Movernpick Resort

We stayed at Movernpick Resort.